Races
Humans Humans: Of the various races of New Vestonia, humans are perhaps the most numerous. Their presence can be felt from the continent’s edge to edge. While Humans retain the same basic abilities, their culture and backgrounds vary greatly. The Vestonians were the original settlers of the area. It was they who made contact with the dragons upon arriving on the new world by ship. Optimistic about the new race, dragons taught those first humans how to use magic. In return, humans taught the dragons how to make and use tools. Together the two races created a number of advanced technologies. However, peace did not last long, as conflicts with both sides began to arise. Fearful of the more powerful creatures, humans drove dragons out of the cities they built together in a vicious crusade. Most of Vestonia now comes to hate dragons, and elemental magic is seen as blasphemy against the gods. Unwilling to rely on magic or seek aid from their brothers to the north, the whole of Vestonia is stuck in a perpetual dark age. Created by the more peaceful northerners, The Malban Provinces take a difference stance on dragons, and especially magic. Most Malban towns relish in magic and use it in place of even mundane tools and technology. Humans are still wary of the dragon presence, but the Malban government is not on an active crusade to destroy them. Some towns tolerate dragons living nearby and may openly communicate with them. Far to the east, across the Ironwood forest, lies a much older civilization. Perhaps they are the remnants of the first humans, before the sundering of the continents, talked about in the old legends. These people live among dragons and Great Wolves alike in tribes. The east is known as the origin place of most Therians. Industrious: '''Humans are typically born into a family that master some kind of profession. They gain +1 to any one professional skill, as well as +1 to any General skill. '''Languages: Humans come from all over, with very diverse backgrounds. At character creation, in addition to knowing the common tongue, human characters may know an additional language of their choice to represent their background. Chosen Chosen: '''Even though the Alkire dragon gods have been gone for hundreds of years, their presence still remains through their humanoid descendants, the Chosen. Very rarely, among human parents, a winged child is born. Among the Vestonians, these "Chosen" are revered as messengers of the gods; not only because of their angelic appearance, but because of their natural affinity for Life Magic. A Chosen child will quickly be indoctrinated into the Vestonian church to be raised as a priest. His training will begin at a young age where he will be shipped off the Vestonian capital city, with little chance of reuniting with his parents until adulthood. As such, the Chosen are typically highly zealous, and revere the Alkire as human gods. Keeping a Chosen child secret from the Vestonian government is considered a high crime against the Church. Parents caught attempting to hide their child are promised life imprisonment as well as a harsher ‘education’ for the child. Out of fear for themselves and their children, many parents give in to the government’s demands. Some parents instead flee to Malba, to live as refugees. Still, they must keep the true nature of their child a secret, for fear of hunters or Vestonian Paladins taking them in the night. '''Winged Form: '''Though the Chosen have wings, their human body structure makes them incapable of flight. However, they are still able to use their wings for improved balance and athletic ability. Chosen receive +1 to both their athletics and acrobatics skills. In addition, Chosen do not take damage from falling from great heights, unless they are wearing heavy armor. '''Alkire Bloodline: Chosen receive +1 rank in life magic at character creation. Forlorn Forlorn: '''When a dragon shifts into human form, he must create an object that holds his excess energy and power, called a focus. These items often take the shapes of tools or weapons, for use in the dragon’s life while he remains in human form. However, because of their power, these items are sought after by rich collectors and power-hungry adventurers. A dragon in human form who loses his focus cannot return to his dragon form until he is reunited with it. These are the Forlorn; dragons on a quest to recover their focus and reclaim their draconic power. Depending on the form the dragon originally took, they can be almost indistinguishable from normal humans. However, dragons tend to take on a more elegant form, and sometimes have exotic features; such as slightly elongated ears or fingers, pale complexions, and lithe bodies. Powerful mages can detect the difference between humans and human-form dragons, by the unique type of magical signature they give off. '''Forgotten Power: '''Forlorn receive +1 rank in the magic skill of their choice. '''Forbidden Knowledge: '''Forlorn can never gain ranks in Arcane magic. '''Focus: '''Upon character creation, a Forlorn must be assigned a species of dragon and a Focus. The species can be any from the list here. There is a guideline for creating focus in this section. A Forlorn reunited with his focus can transform back into his dragon state, where he takes on the characteristics of his chosen species. The time and place when the Forlorn finds his focus will be decided by the game master. Therian '''Therian: '''Perhaps the most unusual, most rare, and least liked individuals of the land are the Therians. Some Therian's are even born through magical means, by the experimentation of powerful mages, while some are born through the unusual union of a human and other magical beast. Therians range greatly in size and shape; anywhere from an 7-foot tall creature, more wolf than man, to petite 4-foot humanoid who need only to hide a dragon-like tail to blend in with human society. Therians usually don’t stay in human villages, and prefer to form small tribes, or wonder the wilderness alone. Some venture into human society for various reasons, for as long as they can get away with. Vestonians do not tolerate the presence of these creatures, and consider them an abomination, killing Therians on sight. Therians tend to have a very carefree spirit, and do and take what they want, earning them the reputation as thieves. '''Racial Attributes: '''Though Therian's can exhibit a wide variety of traits from their various ancestors, they typically have a few things in common. Therians have heightened senses beyond a human, granting them a +1 to their observation skill. '''Feral: '''Because of the feral blood that flows through them, a Therian's bite is stronger and more dangerous than any humans. When fighting unarmed, Therians receive 3 AP, instead of 2. '''Social Outcast: Because of their rarity, reputation, and tendency to avoid others, Therians are somewhat distrusted around the other races. They receive a -1 penalty to their social skill. A Therian character with a 0 in their social skill will find themselves unable to enter into complex social situations, shunned by those around them. Law of the Land: Therians receive +1 to their Survival skill. '''Well Traveled: '''Therians may select an additional language, besides the common tongue.